Tower ladder safety device



Jan. 23, 1951 R. H. HERoD 2,538,904

TOWER LADDER SAFETY DEVICE Filed oct. 19, 194s RAY HARLEN HEROD4Patented Jan. Z3, 1951 TOWER LADDER SAFETY DEVICE Ray Harlen Herod,Burbank, Calif., assignor of one-fourth to *Patrick J. Hurley,Washington, D. C.,onefourth to Fay Randle Herod, Glendaie, andoneffourth to .HoanHerod Van Voorhees, Burbank, Calif.

Application October 19, 1948, Serial No. 55,397

Claims. l

The present invention is a tower ladder safety vdevice, being acontinuation-in-part of my application iiled October 2'?, 1947, SerialNo. 782,- 435, now abandoned.

As in'my previously filed application, this dev-ice isespecially'adapted for use by personsascending and descending laddersattached to dern ricks, tanks, towers, and the like, to avoidpossibility of falling from the ladder if the climber loses his grip orfoothold.

Itis vwithin the objects oi this `invention to Vprovide a safety catchassembly carried by ladder a movable part-of which is attached to theuperson of the user,l said part being counterbalanced to'freely moveup-anddown the=ladder with its wearer; the movable part being equippedwith an auxiliary relatively movable part for positive-engagementwitha'iixed part of the as seinbly in the event of accidentaldisplacement of the wearer while ascending or descending a ladder tolimit the extent of fall of the wearer to a negligible minimum.

Another object of this invention is to provide a safety device whichalsois usable to defrost a ladder in advance of ascending it.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the followingdescription of the present preferred form ofthe invention, wherein:

Figure l is a fragmentary, vertical, Asectional view of a tower laddersafety device, illustrating its application on a ladder, the safetydetent being shown both in full and dotted lines to `show its unlockedand locked position respectively;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary, transverse, sectional view of the assembly,'illustrating its application to a ladder rung locking from the top ofthe ladder;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the assembly, showingparticularly the assembly sleeve and manner of mounting the lockingdetent or pawl thereof; and

Figure i is a detail fragmentary, transverse, sectional view of theassembly, illustrating its application, as seen from the bottom of aladder.

To illustrate the application of this invention I have shown in thedrawings a ladder 5 of standard construction which includes rungs 6.

The safety device, constituting the present invention, consists a safetycatch assembly, generally designated .i, the assembly including a tubewhich is clamped on the ladder and a counterbalanced sieeve which slideson the tube, the sleeve being ensageable with the person ascend ing ordescending the ladder. The tube, designated 3, is of any desired length,preferably andequipped vwith a pluralityro weights 2l.

composed of sections the adjacentends ofw-hich are spliced together byunions 9. Threaded studs, as shown at IQ, extend at intervals from 'theouter periphery of the tube.

vnated 13, is split, as shown at I4, to provide a space for theaccommodation of a tube carried guide bar I5. The guide bar isprovidedwith openings which complement the studs I0. The innermost wall of eachclamp ll is adapted to engage the outeriace o1' the guide bar,I5,asshown in Figure 1. The sleeve I3 also includes a pivotally mounted pawlor detent I5,vthe pawl being mounted between lugs I'I which extend fromthe outer wall of the sleeve and carry a. pin I8 upon which the pawl ofdetent is mounted. The lower inner end 1of the detent is formed toprovide a tooth i9 which is adapted for engagement through van opening2i) in the sleeve I3 and with any one of a plurality of notches orrecesses at 2i formed in the outer periphery of the tube-*8. .The freeend of the detent or pawll 6. is provided with an opening which isadapted for the reception of one end of a `chain or cable 22, theopposite end of the'latter ycarrying a snap fastener 23 which is adaptedto engage a complemental parten ,a safety belt carried by a personascending or descending a. ladder.

For the purpose of counterbalancing the sleeve I3 I provide a cable 24one end of which engages an ear 25 formed by extending a portion oftheupper outer wall of the sleeve. The cable is trained over a groovedroller or sheave 'and has its opposite end'mounted within the tube vilThe weights 2i are rounded on their opposite ends to Yfacilitatemovementthrough the tube and are of an aggregate weight in excess of the sleeveI3 and its associated parts. In view of the variation in weight betweenthe weights 2l and the sleeve and its associated parts the sleeve willbe normally maintained above the waistline of the person on the ladder.The roller or sheave 26 is mounted on a bracket 2S carried by anddetachably engaged with the top of the tube 8 by a set screw 2d. Thesleeve i3 carries an upper and lower, front and rear, set of bearingWheels 3Q to facilitate up and down movement of the sleeve on the tubeS. The roller 2S and the cable trained thereover are protected from theelements by a housing 3 I, the latter being slidably engaged over and infrictional engagement with the bracket 28.

The lower end of the tube 8 carries a coupling 32 which is adapted toplace the tube in communication with a source of heat such, forinstance, as an exhaust pipe in order to permit the passage of heatupwardly through the tube. Since the tube is clamped into engagementWith the ladder rungs, approximately midway the ends of the ladder, therungs may be expeditiously defrosted before a person ascends the ladder.

In use of this device after the safety catch assembly has been clampedon the ladder, as shown in the drawings and described above, and thesnap fastener 23 of the detent engaged with the safety belt of theclimber, the ascent may be begun. As a person climbs the rungs of theladder, straddling the tube 3, which is of relatively small diameter,the sleeve i3 automatically moves upwardly with the person by reason ofthe counterbalanced weights 2 I1" in ascending or descending the ladder,the person slips, pressure is immediately exerted on the chain 22,causing the toothed end of the detent i6 to be urged into the proximatenotch 2l of the tube, thereby locking the sleeve from movement andlimiting the extent of the fall of the person to a negligible minimum.After the person has righted himself on the ladder, the detent may bedisengaged from the notch in the tube, in an obvious manner, and theascent or descent continued.

It is to be understood that varie-fus changes may be made in thisinvention within the scope of the claims hereto appended.

I claim:

1. A tower ladder safety device comprising, in combination with aladder, a safety catch assembly anchored to the ladder including a tubefixed to the ladder, a sleeve slidably mounted on the tube, a detentmovably carried by the sleeve and equipped with a flexible el :nt forengagement with a person ascen ing or descending the ladder, acounterweight slidably mounted in said tube and engaged with the sleeveto eilect automatic upward sliding movement of the sleeve on the tubewith the corresponding upward movement of the person on the ladder, thedetent being engageable through the sleeve and with the tube in theevent of slippage of the person on the ladder.

2. A tower ladder safety device comprising, in combination with aladder, a safety catch assembly anchored to the ladder including a tubeiixed to the rungs of the ladder midway the ends of the rungs, a sleeveslidably mounted on the tube, a detent movably carried by the sleeve andequipped with a flexible element adapted for engagement with a personascending r descending the ladder, the sleeve automatically slidingupwardly on the tube with the corresponding upward movement of theperson on the ladder, the

4 detent being engageable through the sleeve and with the tube in theevent of slippage of the person on the ladder, and a coupling on thebottom of the tube for engagement with a source of heat.

3. A tower ladder safety device including a ladder engaging tube, asleeve slidably mounted on the tube, counterbalance means for the sleevemounted in the tube, a connection between the counterbalance means andthe sleeve, and a detent pivotally mounted on said sleeve and equippedwith a flexible element adapted for engagement with a person on theladder, the detent being movable into engagement with the tube to lockthe sleeve from movement in the event of slippage of the person on theladder.

4. tower ladder safety device, including a ladder engaging tube, acounterbalanced sleeve slidably mounted on the tube, the sleeve beingsplit to provide a space, a guide bar mounted on the tube and in thesleeve space to ho-ld the sleeve from rotation, and a detent pivotallymounted on the sleeve and equipped with a flexible element adapted to beengaged with a person on the ladder, the detent being movable intoengagement with the tube to lock the sleeve from movement in the eventof slippage of the person on the ladder.

5. A tower ladder safety device comprising, in combination with aladder, a safety catch assembly anchored on the ladder including atubular member secured to the rungs of the ladder, the assembly alsoincluding a sleeve slidable on the tubular member and equipped withmeans engageable with a person ascending or descending the ladder, theassembly further including a weight slidable within the tube and iniexible connection with the sleeve to eiect automatic upward movement ofthe sleeve on the tube when the person ascends the ladder, and theassembly still further including a detent on the sleeve, movable withsaid person engaging means, into locking engagement with the tubularmember in the event of displacement of the person from the ladder rungs.

RAY HARLEN HEROE.

REFERENCES Cl'IED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PA I E N TS Number Name Date 282,314 Heiner July 3l, 18831,630,484 Fritts May, El, 1927 1,927,469 Plumpton Sept. 19, 19332,368,081 Marsh Jan. 23, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date163,705 Switzerland Nov. l, 1933

